Tag Archives: Shopping

Dec15

Dining in a Greenhouse

Posted on December 15, 2012 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

Have you ever been in a new town and just “happened” upon a magical place?

We were just driving down the street in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania and wanted to purchase a plant as a gift for some friends we were visiting. The Greenhouses caught our eye and in we drove……….

……..only to wander into one of the most amazing restaurants we have ever visited!

The bread is baked in Clay Pots!!! It is so fresh and wonderful and served with Herb Infused Butter

Chef Keith Rudolf uses the local harvest of farmer’s to create his incredible dishes…….

…….like the Mushroom Skillet.

The Pumpkin Latte was creamy and wonderful..

Stop the maddness……….Bread Pudding with Ice Cream……

It is so magical to be sitting among all the beautiful plants and fountains as you dine on the culinary creations

…..and, oh yes, we did find a rhododendron for our friends which now has a home in this marvelous sitting area….

…….listening to the stories being told over glass after glass of prosecco..

May15

Visiting the Neighbors – Enjoying the Garden

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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: The Garden Gate

We have a big garden and try to grow plants that we can harvest and enjoy all year round.

Today, I decided to see what the neighbors were up to….

…I had seen them busy with their homes over the past few weeks…..

They were all occupied inside so I went on to visit the other neighbors………….

They expressed their dismay at my not bringing any vegetable scraps or at least some weed pullings so I moved on…..

the magnolia has been blooming so wonderfully this year…..

We have had several years of very harsh weather and this Spring and Summer have been filled with mild temperatures and wonderful rain so you can see the flowers giving thanks…….

The Gardner found this beauty on the property and brought it home to enjoy.

We are still harvesting Artichokes, so many that we have decided to let some bloom and enjoy the wonderful flowers…..
………..you do remember The Demoniac Vegetable – Arti chokes blog post don’t you??!?

………but enough of all this let’s go to the garden….

all sorts of wonders…..corn, green beans, okra, white onions, yellow onions, red onions, cabbage……oh my!

………and then yummy cabbage…..when you garden organically, even the bugs get to eat a little…….

………almost ready for the kitchen…….

….the Fennel so prolific, we are unable to eat all the bulbs….

..now blooming and producing seed…….yum, more for next year……

..the carrots peeking out…..

….beautiful peaches…hopefully the squirrels won’t eat them all……..

….Figs…..they never make it out of the garden….we eat them right off the trees..

..this tree is from a cutting from my Great Grandmother’s tree……sigh…..

..even pears this year……..yippee….

: More Sqaush growing

Elmer beat me to the Garden and has harvested this morning’s Yellow Crook Neck Squash and Honduran Beans. Here they are nestled in his shirt.

The Herbs are going wild…….for years I so longed for fresh herbs and now I have a jungle of them….

..sometimes I wish I was a cat so I could just roll around in them and enjoy the beautiful fragrances……

Beautiful Basil

…….Omnipotent Oregano……..

…..Timid…..yet Terrific Thyme……

…..Tender Tarragon……..

….Powerful and Potent Papalo….

…………back to the kitchen…….the rains are starting again……

………the counter full of garden goodies…….green beans…….

…….marvelous……..magnificant………beets….

……..cabbage already in the steamer……..

……then the final creation…….Augustine has worked his magic on the wonders from the garden and produced a Magnificent Vegetable Soup…..complete with garnish of Jalapenos, Fresh Lemon and Avocado………

…..I saved you a bowl…..wish you could join me……

Mar1

Leap Year – Dinner on the Deck

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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Who would believe that we had 80 degree weather today. Elmer felt that it was time to harvest one of the cauliflower so off to the garden we went. With the weather so beautiful we spent the evening on the deck listening to the water fall and grilling a beautiful steak and our cauliflower harvest. We love to eat the cauliflower greens. We had a marvelous evening having dinner outside (again I must say……..IN FEBRUARY!!!!) and watching our glorious roadrunner come and show us his latest catch………a SNAKE! The ducks flew overhead, migrating back. WOW this is a strange winter. What a wonderful evening, and the sunset was tremendous. I took many, many pictures of it, but will not bore you with them all…………just one! Hoping you had a marvelous day also!

: The Garden Gate

: Elmer with cauliflower Harvest……yummy

: Steak with Garden Goodies

: Wine Before Dinner

: Listening to the Water Fall

: Sunset ……….time to go in

Feb18

Valentine’s Party for At Risk Youth – San Antonio, Texas

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Tales and Travels of the Tin Man

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When I was asked to coordinate the food for a Valentine’s Party and Dance for inner city at-risk youth, I thought……….sure sounds like a great cause and fun too! Well…… then I found out that the party was for 700 persons and that I had to prepare the food at my location and transport it to the party location………..35 miles away!

YIKES, did I ever wish I had Dorothy‘s ruby slippers at that point.